Services designed to address skill deficiencies and upgrade the long-term employability of program participants are central to the assistance offered by each tribal WtW program. Employment services (such as job readiness training and job placement assistance) are primarily designed to help participants make the transition from welfare to full-time, unsubsidized employment. Under WtW, emphasis is placed on moving participants into jobs as quickly as possible. The following section highlights and compares approaches to employment and training that tribal sites use.

As in nontribal WtW programs, tribal WtW programs emphasize job readiness training and helping participants overcome self-doubts about entry into the workforce. All of the grantees in the study provide some type of preemployment job readiness preparation for WtW participants--generally workshops or individualized counseling by project staff. Workshop sessions typically cover self-esteem, assertiveness training, motivation, time management, decision making, and career identification. They also cover resume writing, goal setting, communication/interpersonal skills, meaning and value of work, interviewing techniques, and strategies for retaining jobs and avoiding conflicts with supervisors and coworkers. Project instructors use a variety of teaching techniques in the workshops. These include small-group discussions or exercises, presentations by the instructor or special speakers, role playing, and videos. Participants usually emerge from these workshops with a polished resume and a step-by-step plan for conducting job search activities.

After a participant completes the job readiness workshop, the instructor or the WtW case manager typically works with the participant and the TANF case manager to determine next steps. Based on this decision, the participant's EDP or ISS is updated, including plans for meeting TANF work requirements. Usually, job-ready individuals begin looking for work and individuals who are not yet job ready (lacking job skills or previous job experience) enter a short-term training or work experience activity to enhance employability.

Despite the philosophy and constraints imposed by WtW, the tribal sites included in this study generally place more emphasis than nontribal WtW programs on providing preemployment education and training, and supported-work opportunities. Even under the amended WtW program rules, stand-alone preemployment training is limited to six months. While the regulations do not impose limits on postemployment E&T activities, coordination with TANF, which does have limits, may impose some TANF-related limits on WtW participants, and low funding levels may limit the duration of such activities. Despite these limits, tribes often go further than nontribal grantees in providing education and training.

This greater emphasis on preemployment education and training is related to several factors: a lack of available job openings on or near reservations, basic-skills deficiencies and lack of job-specific skills that limitimmediate job placement potential of many long-term TANF recipients, and preferences among participants and program administrators to take a longer-term approach to preparing individuals so that they can obtain better-paying, career-type jobs. In addition, the existence of 477 programs in several tribal sites (Klamath, Three Affiliated Tribes, White Earth) facilitates increased emphasis on education and training by merging funding across several sources and reducing constraints imposed by the WtW limit on preemployment training to six months.

Three Affiliated Tribes provides a good example of how some tribal WtW programs supplement the basic "work first" approach (an underpinning of WtW) by offering a range of education and training opportunities before and after employment. Under its 477 program, Three Affiliated Tribes combines funding from several sources--including WtW, NEW, WIA, and BIA Adult Vocational Training and Direct Employment--to make a range of educational and training services available to build educational credentials, job-related skills, and long-term employability of WtW participants. The main priority of Three Affiliated Tribes' 477 program is to enhance educational attainment and prospects for long-term employability of participating tribal members. Most education and training services are provided through courses at the Fort Berthold Community College (FBCC), a tribally controlled community college on the reservation (and at several other satellite locations on the reservation). Individuals who lack a high school degree can attend Adult Basic Education (ABE)/GED courses at FBCC. GED preparation ranges from 12 hours per week to 4 hours per week in other (more remote) locations on the reservation. The tribe requires TANF clients enrolled in fewer than 12 hours of GED per week to supplement their studies with paid work or unpaid work experience assignments. After 477 program participants attain a GED, they can move into postsecondary education, work experience, on-the-job training (OJT) slots, or unsubsidized work. Individuals with high school degrees or GEDs who are enrolled in the 477 program are encouraged to pursue postsecondary education--mostly two- and four-year degree programs or short-term training programs leading to a certificate.(3)

Most 477 participants become full-time students, generally taking 12 credit hours per semester. The 477 participants apply for Pell Grants, but if they are ineligible for such grants, the 477 program pays tuition.

While the Three Affiliated Tribes approach is among the most ambitious of the preemployment education and training initiatives funded (in part) by WtW, other tribal programs recognize the need to make basic education and postsecondary education and training available for WtW participants on a pre- and/or postemployment basis. For example, the same agency that operates the WtW program on the Klamath reservation also administers several programs aimed at improving employability. Klamath's College Assistance program funds tribal member studies at either two- or four-year institutions of higher education in any chosen field. The tribe's Adult Vocational Training program funds training for tribal members in the service area in any vocation or profession leading to a license or certification. Klamath's Adult Basic Education program provides tribal members in the service area with short-term, self- improvement funding for classes of interest, including the GED. The Johnson-O'Malley Act program provides supplemental education for any self-identified Native American attending public schools in prekindergarten through the 12th grade.

ABE is the main type of educational activity that the tribal programs we visited provide. Heavy use of ABE reflects the relatively high rates of school dropout on Indian reservations. WtW participants typically are referred to ABE programs (usually operated by local education authorities) on the reservation or in nearby towns. Participants usually attend ABE on a part-time basis--perhaps 8 to 12 hours a week--and are involved at the same time in other program activities (such as work experience, job search, or unsubsidized work).

Tribal programs offer temporary subsidized- and supported-work experience positions, for several reasons: lack of readily available jobs, geographic isolation of some reservations, and lack of work experience and job-specific skills among many of those served. These temporary activities are aimed at acclimatizing WtW participants to the "world of work" (for example, showing up on time, getting along with coworkers, and exhibiting appropriate work attitudes), building job-specific skills and experience, acquiring job references and building resumes, and generally improving their chances of landing a full-time job. Such positions also help some WtW participants to meet requirements under TANF (if they are subject to them) to be involved in work activities at least 30 hours per week. In some instances, grantees use subsidized work--particularly OJT--as a direct avenue for promoting full-time work, by establishing the expectation that employers will hire the worker if he or she successfully completes the trial work period.

The types of work experience slots, their duration, and the subsidy provided to employers vary both across and within programs and across participants. Following are examples of the types of subsidized work tribal programs use:

Klamath.The Klamath Tribes use work experience to develop skills needed to seek, maintain, and be successful in unsubsidized jobs. Employment sites are chosen based on the potential for related employment after the work experience period. Emphasis is placed on governmental and nonprofit agencies, which often have openings for clerical, service, and other positions. The job and length of the work experience are tailored to a WtW participant's needs and capabilities, but duration is limited to 90 days. During the final five weeks of work experience, participants are granted at least eight hours per week to search for unsubsidized employment.

Navajo Nation. Work experience is a key component of the Navajo WtW program. WtW funds subsidize 100 percent of the WtW participant's salary and pay for support services. Participants are placed either in a full-time position (1,000 hours over a six-month period) or in a part-time work experience position (generally providing half as many hours). Participants placed in full-time positions are typically the most job-ready (they need less work experience before taking a full-time job). Participants who are attending GED classes, and therefore unavailable for full-time work, are typically placed in part-time positions.

Tribal WtW programs such as those operated by the Klamath Tribes and Navajo Nation provide a continuum of employment services, helping participants with widely varying capabilities. Many WtW participants come to programs with less than a high school degree and little or no previous work experience. Therefore, programs offer work experience slots that enable participants to mix work with improving basic skills. Individuals entering such work slots (usually part-time positions with tribal agencies) typically engage in about 20 hours of work per week. They then participate in several other activities aimed at enhancing employability (for example, 8 to 12 hours of GED preparation and several hours of job readiness preparation or job search activity). Participants in such slots are generally paid using WtW, NEW, or TANF funds (or with other employment and training funds if the program is a 477 program) at or near a minimum-wage level.

Tribal WtW programs also use OJT to ease the transition from welfare to unsubsidized work. Such slots typically are used for individuals who are more job ready than those entering work experience slots, but who are still unable to obtain unsubsidized employment on their own or who need additional training to secure longer-term, higher-paying positions. This alternative is available to all tribal WtW programs; the programs included in this study use OJT sparingly, however, because of difficulty in finding employers to sponsor OJTs and a preference for securing unsubsidized rather than subsidized positions whenever possible.

When OJT is used, tribal WtW administrators negotiate slots with local employers to include both productive work and training. Some OJT is arranged through referral to another program, such as WIA/JTPA. The training component of OJT typically begins with an initial orientation to the job. For example, the employer sponsoring the OJT provides a one- or two-week orientation in a classroom setting or a one-on-one meeting with a supervisor, providing guidance on general workplace policies, as well as instruction on how to perform actual work tasks. Employers typically assign a work supervisor or instructor to provide detailed instruction and help with work tasks and to monitor performance and troubleshoot problems as they emerge in the workplace. Workplace instruction is sometimes accompanied by more formal instruction in a classroom setting, either directly by the employer or at a nearby educational institution, to build job-specific skills and productivity.

As under WIA and in other nontribal WtW programs, OJT slots at the tribal WtW sites visited in this study are for up to six months. The tribal WtW programs typically pay 50 percent of the worker's wage. If the individual successfully completes training, the employer is expected to hire him or her as a full-time employee (with full benefits) at the end of the training period. Tribal programs indicate that, in identifying OJT slots, they looked for positions in high-demand occupations, with long-term employment prospects, advancement potential, and an attractive package of fringe benefits (especially health care). They also look for employers willing to commit supervisory staff to provide hands-on training and mentoring.

All of the tribal WtW grantees in the study provide postemployment or placement support. They monitor employment status, troubleshoot problems that could lead to job loss or return to welfare, and provide support services (especially transportation assistance) needed to maintain employment. All programs dedicate counselors or case managers to follow up regularly with WtW participants placed in jobs. At a minimum, most programs conduct follow-up telephone calls to employed participants monthly for six months following placement to collect data for reporting on outcomes. Usually, client contacts are more frequent--often daily for the first few days after employment starts, then weekly for the first month or two, then gradually tapering off to semi-monthly and monthly. In some cases--particularly where difficulties arise or troubleshooting is needed--program staff visit participants at their homes or at the workplace. Program staff also periodically contact employers by telephone or in person to check on participants' progress and to address workplace problems/issues (for example, conflicts with coworkers/supervisors, absenteeism, poor performance on the job, attitudinal problems) before they lead to job loss.

Tribal WtW programs urge participants to contact program staff if they run into problems in the workplace, at home, or elsewhere. Participants might need support services (for example, help with car repair, child care assistance, or skill upgrading) to maintain employment. Where possible, tribal programs try to link regular receipt of support services during the six-month period following job placement--such as reimbursement for mileage, distribution of transportation passes, or child care--to regular contacts between WtW program staff and the participant. For example, participants might be required to stop by the WtW program office weekly or semi-monthly to obtain reimbursement or vouchers, at which time program staff can quickly check up on the participant's progress and discuss any emerging problems. Alternatively, WtW program staff might stop by periodically (semi-monthly) at the participant's worksite or home to drop off child care or transportation vouchers and, at the same time, pick up a time card showing work hours and wages.

Beyond ongoing case management and support services, tribal WtW programs make a range of education and training services available to help WtW participants retain and advance in their jobs. While all tribal WtW programs make education and training available to individuals as a postemployment service, tribal sites we visited report that they often have few takers for such assistance. Once placed in jobs (especially full-time jobs), WtW participants find that, unless employers provide paid work time for them to attend education or training (for example, work four days and have a fifth day devoted to classroom instruction), they have little additional time available to devote to upgrading skills, given the need to attend to their children and other household responsibilities.

Tribal WtW programs do not regularly provide help with building basic or job-related skills as a postemployment service. When programs do provide such assistance, it is typically through referrals to other education or workforce development agencies. For example, once employed, a WtW participant might attend a basic skills/GED preparation workshop several times a week sponsored by the tribe or by a local educational authority (such as a local school district or a tribal or community college) in a nearby city or town. Tribal WtW programs also help participants secure tuition assistance through WIA/JTPA, Pell Grants, and other tribally sponsored educational programs for short-term job-specific skills training and for longer-term education leading to two-year and (in rarer instances) four-year postsecondary education degrees.

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